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We won - Thank you

Submitted by Sue on Thu, 05/10/2017 - 11:24

Huge thanks to all who supported and voted - St Tudy won the One Family Foundation Community Award !

St Tudy have won a hard fought £25,000 national award. Sue Handford pledged to renovate the current worn-out space and create a new play area as a tribute to Claire Townsend, who was manager of St Tudy Pre-school until she passed away suddenly earlier this year.

St Tudy Playing Field Trust was awarded the money by financial services company OneFamily as part of its Community Awards.It was hard fought battle and thanks to everyone who helped. The funds will be used to replace the current out of date playground with new play equipment with accessibility at the heart of the playground.

The St Tudy Playing Field Trust also plan to create a vegetable patch and wildlife garden, where local pre-schoolers and primary school pupils can grow their own fruit and veg and learn about nature.

Villagers said they hoped the playground at St Tudy Playing Field would be a fitting way to remember mother-of-four Claire, who was a good friend to many in the area and is already much missed.

Sue Handford, family friend and fundraiser for the St Tudy Playing Field Trust, said: “Claire loved children, and dedicated her life to making sure that their lives were filled with fun and laughter. Outdoor activity is so important and that is why I made this application, to make a difference and ensure that something positive can happen.

“We thought updating our village playground would be a fitting tribute to Claire and her family. It will provide a place where children of all ages from across our community can play for many years to come.

We couldn’t have done this without Jeremy Northcott, who was secretary and leading light of the Playing Field Trust. Jeremy passed away recently. I wanted to acknowledge his help and support in securing this funding. “I am also very grateful to the One Family who have given us this wonderful opportunity for our community. Thank you.”

Winning an award like this for a small parish needs Cornwall and everyone's friends and family to help. A media campaign, with great support from Laurence Reed of BBC Radio Cornwall, social media - thanks, Fishermans Friends and Trelawneys Family, Cornwall Today , Cornish Guardian , North Cornwall Advertsier and all the groups who help - Cornwall's Rural Charities, Playing Fields association Cornwall WI, the Lions... so many to thanks.

Claire’s husband Dan Townsend said: “My family and I would like to thank everyone that took the time to vote for St. Tudy playground.

“Claire was a wonderful mother to our four children, was very family orientated and loved her job working with children. Claire would be very honoured to have this play equipment in her memory, as are myself and family."

The awards are part of the OneFamily Foundation and were created to give OneFamily customers the opportunity to support projects in their area that matter to them and their families. This year’s awards saw customers nominating projects to win £5,000, £10,000 or £25,000 across four categories.

OneFamily customer Sue Handford has a Family Bond with OneFamily and nominated the St Tudy playground project for the £25,000 award. The group is one of 32 organisations to have won an award in this latest round and one of four who won the maximum award.

Guy French, corporate and customer strategy director at OneFamily said: “I’ve been very moved to see the overwhelming support for this project, which will be a fantastic tribute to Claire’s life and achievements. I was also very sorry to hear about Jeremy.

“As this project shows, our Community Awards support organisations that our customers care about, making a positive difference to their local communities.

“The OneFamily Foundation is a way that we give something back to our customers, and each year we give hundreds of thousands of pounds to causes that matter to them most.”